And, the mayor says, make no mistake about it, “Philly is the No. 1 city for the 4th. There really is nowhere else to celebrate the Fourth of July other than the City of Philadelphia, so let’s be very clear about that.”

Wawa president and chief executive officer Howard Stoeckel also brought his own surprise announcement about Wawa’s sponsorship of the Welcome America events: “We will extend the relationship for another three years beyond 2012.”

Wawa Welcome America begins June 29 and runs for 10 days capped by the concert and fireworks on the parkway on July 4.